Chapter 3

Justin's words got stuck in his throat. He looked like he'd just swallowed a fly. Immediately, he flew into a rage.

"You want to break up with me? How dare you say you want to break up with me when I haven't even said it yet, you shameless, two-timing bitch!"

His words made me frown. In my previous life, he didn't even bother getting the facts straight before breaking up with me. He'd even watched indifferently as I drowned. Unsurprisingly, now that I was the one who asked for a breakup first, he had no qualms about hurling these insults at me.

I pulled out my phone, which was already in recording mode.

"Justin, I advise you to watch what you say. This counts as verbal abuse."

He scoffed. "What's the matter? You've got the nerve to do it, but you can't stand getting exposed? You're a shameless cheater!"

I raised my hand and slapped him across the face.

"Watch your mouth! I'm going to make it clear to you now—throughout my entire relationship with you, I never flirted or had anything going on with any other guy. I was completely devoted to you."

After saying that, I whipped around and went straight back to my dorm.

…

Over the next few days, every time I walked into the classroom, I could feel my classmates' eyes flickering toward me. The rumors about me grew more and more outrageous, and everyone kept their distance.

Soon, it was time for our swimming class.

In my previous life, I had drowned during this very class. This time, I asked the swimming instructor, Mr. Lane, for permission to skip it. However, he told me it was the last class of the semester, and if I didn't get in the water, I would get a failing grade.

I had no choice but to message my childhood friend, Shane Jamison. I beseeched him to come over and accompany me until the end of the swimming class.

Before class, I repeatedly reminded Shane that if he saw me stay underwater for more than 30 seconds, he had to jump in and save me immediately.

He nodded with resigned helplessness. As we waited on the side for class to start, I even made him swear that he would save me.

Just then, Yvonne and Justin came over, seemingly engaged in a cheerful conversation. But when they saw me, they immediately shot me looks of disgust.

I snorted inwardly.

Finally, it was time for class, and Mr. Lane summoned all of us to gather by the pool. After leading us in a round of warm-ups, he told everyone to swim five laps each before he stepped out to take a phone call.

Some of my classmates immediately moved far away from me.

"Justin, can you get Calista Norton to use a separate pool instead? I don't want to enter the pool after she dirties it!"

Justin nodded as if it made perfect sense. "You're right. Who knows what kind of diseases she has? Mr. Lane will be back soon, so here's my idea. We'll all go first, and she can swim by herself at the very end."

One by one, the others got into the water. Once they'd done their laps, I was about to get into the water when I saw someone dumping a copious amount of chlorine into the pool.

Yvonne watched on the side with a gloating expression. "We don't have to worry about her dirtying the water anymore!"

Someone else chimed in to agree with her. "That's right. We need to use as much chlorine as we can to disinfect someone with a mind and body as filthy as hers!"

Ignoring them, I quickly headed toward the far end of the pool—only to find that someone was also dumping chlorine into the water on that side.

In my agitation, my calf started cramping, just like it had in my previous life.

"Shane, save me!" I immediately shouted in alarm.

[Hahaha! I'll just pretend to drown and see who jumps in to save me. After all, I'm even good enough to join the synchronized swimming team. Only an idiot would think I need saving! This is also my chance to see if Justin still loves me and whether he'll try to save me.]

All of my classmates, who were standing on the side of the pool, heard the thoughts that were never mine to begin with and began scowling in disdain.

Justin turned purple in the face and glared daggers at me as well. "What the hell? She's still trying to mess with us!"

I couldn't see Shane anywhere. The harsh smell of chlorine made me dizzy and nauseous. With my body running out of oxygen, my consciousness slowly started to fade.

Right before I blacked out, I finally heard the sound of someone jumping into the water.

…

When I woke up, I saw Shane's anxious face hovering above mine.

"What on earth is going on? All I did was turn away for a minute to take a phone call! Why did you nearly end up drowning in the pool? Have your classmates been bullying you?" he cried out.

I coughed violently, my chest heaving.

Mr. Lane finally hurried over as well. "Are you alright there?"

My eyes fell on my classmates. None of them looked even the least bit guilty.